W
henChimamandaNgozi
Adichie gave a speech
titled “We ShouldAll Be
Feminists” at a TEDx event
in London in2012, the
award-winningNigerian author of
Half of a
YellowSun
couldnever have imagined the
impact itwouldhave. The inspiring call to
armswas quotedbyBeyoncé inher 2013
hit
Flawless
, has rackedupmore than
2.5million YouTube views, andwas adapted
into anextendedessay in2014.
Nowevery 16-year-old in Swedenhas
been given theessay inbook form, with
thehopeof inspiring anew generation
toengage indiscussions about gender
equality and feminism. Theproject, an
initiative from the SwedishWomen’s Lobby
andpublisher Albert Bonniers Förlag, was
launched inDecember last year atNorra
Real high school in Stockholm.
“This is thebook that I wish all ofmy
maleclassmateswouldhave readwhen
I was 16,” saysClaraBerglund, chair of
the SwedishWomen’s Lobby. “It feels so
important tocontribute to this project.”
It’s little surprise that Sweden– known
for its progressive approach to gender
equality –has adopted the scheme.
The country has consistently ranked in
the annual Global GenderGapReport’s
top four countries for equality; “gender
mainstreaming” is a key government
strategy; 50per cent of government
ministers arewomen; andparents get to
share480days of parental leaveby law.
There is, however, still work todo to
achieve trueequality, asAdichiewrites in
theessay: “Myowndefinitionof a feminist
is amanor awomanwho says, ‘Yes, there’s
aproblemwith gender as it is today and
wemust fix it,wemust dobetter.’We
shouldbegin toplan for adifferentworld.
Aworldof happiermenandhappier
womenwhoare truer to themselves…We
must raiseour daughtersdifferently.We
must also raiseour sonsdifferently.”
This is exactlywhat theSwedishproject
aims todo. AsBerglund says, “It is a gift
toall second-gradehigh-school students,
but it is alsoa gift toourselves and
future generations.”
chimamanda.com,
sverigeskvinnolobby.se,albertbonniersforlag.se
NorwegianfliestoStockholm fromnearly
70destinations.Bookflights,ahotelanda
rentalcaratnorwegian.com
Words
⁄
Mandi Keighran
Illustration
⁄
Lina Ekstrand
Will this
author inspire
ageneration
of Swedes?
Well, everySwedish
16-year-oldnowhasa
copyofChimamanda
NgoziAdichie’sbook,
We
ShouldAllBeFeminists
–
so it seems likely...
Q
n
A
n
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